AP: CMS Ignored Scam Warnings

The Associated Press reports that for three years, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) repeatedly ignored internal watchdog warnings about swindlers stealing millions of dollars by scamming several programs, documents show. CMS received roughly 30 warnings from inspectors over three years during the Bush and Obama administrations but didn’t respond to half of them, even after repeated letters, according to records provided to The Associated Press by U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley’s office.

A July 2008 Office of Inspector General (OIG) warning said organized crime had infiltrated the system and was costing more than $1 million for each phony Medicare provider license the crooks obtained. The letter got no response, Grassley said.

He and other critics said lack of oversight in the federally administered program is partially responsible for an estimated $60 billion a year in Medicare fraud. For more information, read the whole story.